It's been nineteen years coming and finally a fourth installment of Indiana Jones has come to life. But was it worth the wait? Is Indy still the good ol' hero we all know and love? The answers to both of these questions are...different. The second is “yes,” but the first is “almost.”

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” brings back our old buddy, once again played by Harrison Ford, now in 1957 with the Russians on his tail. The story starts off in Area 51, where we find the very same hangar from “Raiders of the Lost Ark” where the Ark of the Covenant was hidden. This time, however, the search is on for something completely different. The story continues with Indy running into a Greaser named “Mudd,” played by Shia LaBeouf, and they both continue on the quest for the titular object: a super-magnetic crystal skull.

First off, I have to praise this movie for its excellent cinematography. You can be looking for this one at the Oscars for sure. As for the writing, they couldn't have been more off. They completely took everything but the charm of the original movies and threw them out the window, going for a completely different kind of movie. I don't want to spoil anything, but the story is so not like the rest of the series that it's hard to respect.

The thing that saves the movie, however, is the action. That charm I wrote of earlier comes out in the drawn out action sequences, all of which really remind you of the old series. It almost sounds like a good idea to, when the DVD comes out, just watch those and skip the plot development.

“Crystal Skull” had the potential to be a great addition to the series, but the story would have had to be anything but the one they used. I'm extremely disappointed in Stephen Spielberg, and I'm wondering just how much influence George Lucas had on this movie.